gettingthestatementright mar2011.pdf

8/14/2019 GettingTheStatementRight Mar2011.pdf

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Getting the

Statement Right


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Advisory Centre for Education 2011

ContentsUnderstanding SpecialEducational Needs 1What are special educational needs? 1

The SEN Code of Practice 2

What is a statement? 2

Checking the proposedstatement 3Getting advice 4

Part 2 your childs difficulties 4

Par t 3 the help your child must have 4Parts 5 and 6 non-educational help 7

Stating your views 7

Naming a school in part 4 8General right to mainstream education 8

Meeting your preference 8

Independent schools 9

Academies 9

Negotiating with the LA 10Meeting with the LA Named Officer 10

Meeting with professionals 11

Mediation 11

Final statement and appeals 12Final statement 12

Appealing to SEND 12

Further help 13

Important notes

The information in this booklet is based

on the laws of England.

This booklet covers statutory assessment

for children over 2 years old.

Definitions and

abbreviationsCode The Special Educational Needs Code

of Practice (see page 2).

IPS Independent Parental Supporter. A trained

volunteer working with Parent Partnership to

support parents.

LA The Local Authority deals with the

administration of a local council. The educationdepartment may be part of the LAs childrens

services authority or trust.

IPS Independent Parental Supporter. A trained

volunteer working with Parent Partnership to

support parents.

Named Officer The LA officer responsible for

a statement

PPS Parent Partnership Service. An impartial

service in each LA supporting parents and carers

of children with SEN.

SEN special educational needs.

SENCO special educational needs co-ordinator.

The teacher in each school with responsibility

for SEN.?If there is

anything in this booklet

you dont understand or if

you would like more information,

please call our free advice lineon 0808 800 5793.


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1 Advisory Centre for Education 2011 my child in school Getting the Statement Right

My child is gettinga statement what

do I need to do?All parents want the best for their children but some children will need a lot of extra help

to do well at school. Some children may need more help than can be routinely provided

by schools and this must be set out on a statement of special educational needs.

Before a statement is written, the local authority (LA) will ask your childs teachers,

a doctor, social services and an educational psychologist to examine your child and

write repor ts. You will be asked for your views too.

If the LA decides to write a statement you have the right to make comments and to ask

for the school you want. This booklet will help you do that.

Understanding Special Educational NeedsWhat are special educational needs?Children with special educational needs are children with a learning difficulty

that means that they need extra help at school.

Children with learning difficulties either:

find it much harder to learn than most other children of the same age or

have a disability which makes it harder for them to use the same educational

facilities (buildings, equipment etc) as other children in their area.

A learning difficulty could result from a physical or mental impairment, a medical

condition, emotional and behavioural problems, communication difficulties or

problems with learning to read or write.

Most children with special educational needs go to ordinary mainstream school.

A mainstream school is a school which provides for all children including those

with SEN and disabilities. A special school only provides education for pupils with

SEN, generally those with the most severe or complex needs.


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The SEN Code of PracticeThe Special Educational Needs Code of Practice is Government guidance on special

educational needs. The law says that schools and local authorities (LA) must have

regard to the Code this means they must not ignore it. Important principles for

a child with special educational needs in the Code are that:

the child should have their needs met;

the child will normally have their needs met in a mainstream school;

the child should have full access to a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum,

including the National Curriculum or, for younger children, the foundation stage

curriculum;

childrens views should be taken into account;

parents of children with SEN should be treated as partners.

Chapter 8 of the Code describes how LAs must write statements.

The SEN Toolkit has more detailed practical advice on implementing the Code.

Section 7 of the Toolkit deals with writing statements.

You can get a free copy of the Code and the SEN Toolkit. See Further help on

page 13 for details.

What is a statement?Most children with special educational needs are given extra help by the school

through either School Action or School Action Plus. School Action Plus involves

more specialist help, often from people outside the school such as an educational

psychologist or a speech and language therapist. The ACE booklets Getting Extra

Help andEarly Years Extra Help cover this in more detail.

If your child has severe or complex needs, they may need the extra help that comes

through having a statement of SEN. The LA may write a statement following a

statutory assessment of special educational needs. This stage is covered by theACE bookletAsking for a Statutory Assessment.

A statement of special educational needs describes all your childs difficulties and

the special educational help they must be given. Your LA has a legal duty to ensure

your child gets the help described in the statement.

2 my child in school Getting the Statement Right Advisory Centre for Education 2011


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The statement comes in six parts:

1. your childs personal details

2. a description of their educational needs

3. a description of the educational help they must receive

4. the school or type of school your child will attend

5. a description of your childs non-educational needs

6. a description of the non-educational help they should receive.

The law and guidance on statements applies to local authorities (LAs) and

maintained schools as well as pre-schools, nurseries and playgroups, which

have government funding.

Checking the proposed statementThe LA must send you a proposed statement no later than 12 weeks after the

statutory assessment began. It will come with:

advice reports from everyone who helped with the assessment;

a list of local schools, special schools and approved independent schools;

a letter or form asking you which school you would like your child to attend.

There may also be a form for you to put your comments on the statement.


You will need to check the proposed statement very carefully. Is it clear about all

your childs difficulties and the exact help they need? For example, would a new

teacher get a clear picture of your child by reading it?

ACE advises

You must be organised and act quickly, as you only have limited time in which tocomment. If someone is helping you, give them a copy of the statement and reportsimmediately. Make an extra copy for yourself too so that you can write points on a sparecopy and keep one copy clean. You may also find it helpful to use different colouredhighlighters to mark your childs difficulties and the help they must have.


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Getting adviceYour local Parent Partnership Service or an expert voluntary organisation (see

Further help on page 13) will have experience of checking statements to make sure

they follow the law and the SEN Code. If your child has a diagnosed disability, a

national organisation or local support group for your childs condition may be able

to help.


Part 2 your childs difficulties(Special educational needs)All the advice reports on your child will be attached as appendices to the proposed

statement. Check that all the reports listed are there and go through them carefully.

Highlight each difficulty or need described in them.

Now turn to part 2 of the statement and check that it lists all these difficulties.

Tick them off one by one. If anything is missing, make a note.

Make a note of any disagreements in the professional advice and any gaps between

what the reports say and what is in part 2. Also list anything which is unclear or

you dont understand.

Is the statement clear about which difficulties are most serious or does it look as

though they are all of equal importance? You could make a list of the difficulties inorder of importance.

Part 3 the help your child must have(Special educational provision)Now go to part 3 often referred to as provision. This is where the help your child

will get is described. It also includes objectives the long-term aims of the extra

help and the monitoring arrangements how the help and your childs progresswill be checked.

What the Code says

Part 2 of a statement should describe all the childs learning difficulties (para 8:32)

A statement should specify clearly the provision necessary to meet the needs of the child.

It should detail appropriate provision to meet each identified need. (para 8:36)

Provision should normally be quantified (e.g. in terms of hours of provision, staffing

arrangements) (para 8:37)


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Are the objectives right?Do they cover each of your childs needs? Are they clear and practical? Make a

note of any gaps or anything you disagree with. Write down what aims you have

for your child.

Does the help match the needs?

Look at all the difficulties listed in part 2. There must be help to match everydifficulty listed in part 2. Do they match? Make a note of any gaps.

Go back to your reports and highlight with a different coloured felt tip any help

they recommend. Now check that the help is in part 3. Make a note of any gaps.

If anything is unclear, underline it and make a note.

Is there enough help?Reports from different professionals may disagree about the help needed or they

may leave out the help altogether. If there are gaps or disagreements, make a

note. If you disagree with any of the views on your childs needs or help, also

make a note.

Is the help described in detail?

Sometimes statements can be vague or hard to understand. If the statement is

vague, it will be hard later on to check whether your child is getting the right help.

Be clear about the helpTo be clear about what your childs help will amount to on a typical day at school,

ask yourself the following:

What type of help my child will get? e.g. equipment, learning support, teaching

programme, speech therapy.

Who will give the help?

Do they need particular qualifications or experience?

How many hours of extra help are there?

How often will the help happen?

Is help for playtimes and lunchtimes included where necessary?

Will your child get help for self-care if needed e.g. feeding or changing?

What teaching strategies will staff use?

Will teaching be one to one or in small groups?

If teaching is in groups, how big will they be?

Make a note of any gaps, anything that is unclear or anything you do not agree withor understand.



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Are you clear about monitoring?

Who will check your childs progress?

How often will they check?

How will you be involved?

All statements have to be reviewed at least once a year, but it is possible for more

frequent reviews to be written into the statement, for instance if a child is very

young or has rapidly changing needs. For more information on annual reviews see

the ACE booklet Understanding Annual Reviews.


When things change...

Now think about what will happen when there are changes at school.

What will happen if the usual teacher is away? Who will tell supply teachers about

your childs needs?

What will happen if the learning support assistant is away? Will there be someone

to stand in? How would this affect your child? What do you want the school to do

in these situations?

ACE advises

Individual education plans (IEPs) are a good way of checking childrens short-termprogress with parents. If you think this would be useful, make sure IEPs are written intothe monitoring arrangements part of the statement with details about how often they willbe reviewed (termly is normal) with you and teachers.

Beware of weasel words

Alarm bells should ring if your childs statement uses words such as:

access to

regular help

help as required

where necessary

periodic

opportunities for

Its very important that the statement says how much help your child will get and how often.

Words like those above leave it up to someone else to decide, so your child may not get the

help they need.


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What will happen on educational trips or outings? Does the statement include the

extra help your child may need?

If your childs condition or disability means they have days when they have more

problems than others, does the statement include extra help for the bad days?

The statement should plan for events like these which may not happen everyday but

which are a normal part of school life. Make a list of help you would like to go in thestatement to cover them.

Parts 5 and 6 non-educational helpParts 5 and 6 of the statement describe needs and help which are not educational.

These might be details of a medical condition, medical treatment or therapies.

It is important to realise that the LAs legal duty to arrange special educational help

for your child only applies to the help in part 3. There is no duty on the LA toprovide any help which is written in part 6.

It is important to check whether the difficulties in part 5 should be in part 2 and

whether the help in part 6 should appear in part 3.

The most common case of this is speech and language therapy. Some LAs put it in

part 6 and expect the health authority to provide it. However, the courts have said it

can be educational help depending on the needs of the individual child. In this case

it should be in part 3. If it appears in both parts 3 and 6 the LA will still have to make

sure your child receives it.

Other therapies may appear in part 6, for example help for any medical needs. If you

think there is an educational need which means the therapy should be in part 3, ask

for parts 2 and 3 to reflect this. Generally help is educational if a child needs it to

access the curriculum.

If your childs statement mentions transport it will be in part 6. However, the Code

says that transport should only be recorded in exceptional cases where a child has

particular transport needs. This might be something like specialist seating.

Stating your viewsNow take a look at your list of points. Make sure you have clearly listed any changes

you want made to the statement and any questions you may have.

You are given 15 days from receiving the proposed statement to say which school

you would like for your child, make any points about the statement and ask for a

meeting with the Named Officer or any of the professionals who wrote advice about

your child. See the section below on Negotiating with the LA.



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Naming a school in part 4The proposed statement must come with a list of local schools, including special

schools and approved independent schools. part 4 of the statement will be blank at

this stage to allow you to say which school you would like for your child. You canexpress a preference for any state maintained school. This can be a school in your

own LA area or in another area. If your child is already in school you may want them

to stay in the same school. You can also ask for a different mainstream school or a

special school.


Maintained schools

Maintained schools are state funded mainstream and special schools which include community

schools, foundation schools and voluntary aided schools. They do not include academies, city

technology colleges, non-maintained special schools or independent schools which are not

covered by most special educational law and guidance.

General right to mainstream educationMost children with SEN go to mainstream schools. Your LA must agree if you ask for

mainstream schooling as long as your childs attendance will not seriously affect the

education of other children. LAs and schools are expected to take reasonable steps

to try to avoid this before refusing your request for mainstream schooling. This does

not mean you have an absolute right to any mainstream school. If a particular school

is not suitable for your child, the LA may offer you a different mainstream school.

Your right to mainstream education does not stop you from asking for a place at a

special school if that is what you would like.

Meeting your preference

The LA must agree to the particular maintained, mainstream or special school youwant unless it can show one of the following:

the school is unsuitable for your childs age, ability and aptitude and the special

educational needs set out in part 2 of the statement

your childs attendance would not be a good use of resources (eg money, staff,

facilities, transport)

your childs attendance would seriously affect the education of other children

at the school.

If a school is named in part 4 of the statement it must admit your child even if it says

it is full.


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Which school?

Deciding which school would be right for your child can be difficult. The Parent

Partnership Service may be able to help you and an independent parental

supporter (IPS) may visit schools with you (see page 13).

Phone schools to arrange visits and ask to see their special educational needs

co-ordinator.

Ask the school for a copy of:

the school prospectus

the SEN policy

the accessibility plan (this says how the school adapts its building,

curriculum etc to help disabled pupils access education)

the most recent Ofsted inspection report.

Think about your childs difficulties and interests. How do they affect what

you will look for in a school? Write down any questions you would like to ask

the school about your childs needs and extra help.

If the school is a special school or a special unit in a mainstream school,

you could ask if your child will be able to spend time in mainstream classes

or take part in activities such as school trips and after school clubs.

Other questions to ask when you visit: Do staff have skills to help my child?

What experience do they have?

Can my child access the building?

Are the building and school grounds safe for my child?

How does the school change the curriculum for children with SEN?

How big are the classes?

How many children with SEN are in the school?

How many were excluded last year?

How does the school find out the views of pupils with SEN?

How does it provide information for pupils?

How does it keep in touch with parents of children with SEN and report

their progress?


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Independent schoolsIf the school you would like for your child is an independent school or a non-

maintained special school (often run by charities), then you have the right to ask

the LA to consider this. The LA does not have to agree, however, and it may suggest

a maintained school, which it thinks suitable. The LA does not have to name the best

school for your child but it does have to name a school which can meet your childsneeds. Also, an LA cannot name an independent school if the school does not agree

to take the child.

AcademiesAcademies are state-funded independent schools. They are expected to comply with

some SEN law and the Code as a condition of the grant they receive from central

government. If you want your child to go to an academy the LA does not have toagree in the same way as for a maintained school. However it is part of the funding

agreement for most academies that will they admit a child if the LA wants to

name the academy. The academy could only refuse if it would seriously affect

the education of other children and there are no reasonable steps to avoid this.

Negotiating with the LAMeeting with the LA Named OfficerThe Named Officer must meet with you if you want to ask about the statement. You

can ask your Independent Parental Supporter (IPS), someone from a parent support

group or a friend to go with you. They could take notes of what is agreed. Take your

marked up statement and reports and the list of points you made when you checked

them. Decide which are most important before the meeting. You could provide the

Named Officer with your list beforehand.

At the meeting

Begin with the points which you think will be easily agreed. Tick each point off as

you go. Be clear about which points are most important and those you are prepared

to give way on.

Point out any gaps, anything you do not understand or anything you believe needs

adding, improving or changing. If you know what you would like the statement to

say, you could suggest the wording you would like. Try to use the advice in the

reports attached to the statement to back up what you are asking for.


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ACE advises

If you ask for more than one meeting, the LA no longer has to meet the legal time limitsfor the proposed statement stage. It might be worth the delay because getting the

statement right at this stage may affect your childs long-term future. But if you fearfurther delays, ask the LA to finalise the statement, which triggers your right of appeal.You can continue negotiating with the LA after you have registered an appeal.See page 12 for information on appeals.

Make a note of anything decided. If you do not agree on some points, it may be

worth coming back to them at the end. If your most serious points are not agreed,

you may need to ask for another meeting or ask for mediation (See below for

information on mediation).

You could discuss your possible school choice at the meeting. The Named Officer

should be able to answer questions you have about schools.At the end of the meeting check the points you think have been agreed. You can ask

for further meetings. At the end of the final meeting you have a further 15 days to

send in your views on anything in the statement.

Meeting with professionalsIf you want to discuss the advice in the reports at the back of the statement, you can

ask to see any of the people who gave the advice. You could ask them to come to themeeting with the Named Officer to limit the number of meetings and avoid delay.

Take your list of questions. You may wish to:

ask for further information e.g. evidence for some advice

ask about something which is not clear

ask the person to give more advice e.g. about the type or amount of help which

is needed.

MediationAll LAs must provide disagreement resolution services. This is commonly known as

mediation. Mediation involves an independent person sitting down with you and a

representative of the LA and helping you to come to an agreement. If you disagree

with the LA on the final wording of parts 2 and 3 of the statement or if you disagree

about the school the LA wants to name in part 4, you may want to ask for mediation.

Even if you decide to go for mediation, you can go on to appeal afterwards, if you

disagree with the final statement.

To find out about the local mediation service contact Parent Partnership in your LA.


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Final statement and appeals

The final statementEight weeks after you receive the proposed statement the LA must send you a final

statement and the extra help begins. Remember: the deadline may be later if you

have had more than one meeting.

The local authority must make sure that the help described in a statement is given.

If this does not happen you can complain to the LA. If the help is still not given, you

can complain to either the Local Government Ombudsman, or the courts.

A statement must be reviewed at least once a year by law. This means that teachers

(and sometimes other professionals) meet with you to discuss your childs progress

and whether the help written on the statement is right.

Appealing to SENDIf you are not happy with the final statement you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal

for SEN and Disability (SEND). For contact details see Further help on page 13.

You can appeal against:

the description of your childs difficulties in part 2

the special educational help set out in part 3

the school named in part 4.

You can also appeal if no school is named on the final statement. You have two

months from the date the final statement was sent to you to make your appeal.

The Tribunal can order the LA to change part 2 or 3 of the statement or to name

a particular school in part 4. A guide for parents on how to appeal is available

from SEND.

Be aware that the final statement is a legal document. Your child will normally be

expected to attend the school named in part 4 even if you are appealing to SEND

for a different school.



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Further helpFrom ACE

ACE freephone advice line 0808 800 5793

Information and free advice booklets can be downloaded from www.ace-ed.org.uk

or by contacting ACE (see back page).

From the Department for EducationFree publications available to order from 0845 60 222 60

or to download from www.teachernet.gov.uk

Special Educational Needs a guide for parents and carers

www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/parentcarers/

Special Educational Needs Code of Practicewww.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/sencodeintro/

SEN Toolkit www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/sentoolkit/

From Parent PartnershipParent Partnership is an impartial service funded by the LA to support parents of children with

SEN. You can find details of your local service via the National Parent Partnership Network.

Website: www.parentpartnership.org.uk

Telephone: 020 7843 6058

From SEND First Tier Tribunal (SEN and Disability)SEN helpline: 0870 241 2555

How to appeal an SEN decision a guide for parents: www.sendist.gov.uk/Parents

Useful websites and advice lines

IPSEA (Independent Panel for Special Education Advice)

IPSEA provides general advice relating to SEN and specific advice for tribunal appeals.Website: www.ipsea.org.uk

General advice: 0800 018 4016

Tribunal advice: 0845 602 9579

Contact a Family for families with disabled children

Contact a Family has details of support organisations for a wide variety of specific conditions

including rare disorders.

Website: www.cafamily.org.uk

Helpline: 0808 808 3555

13 Advisory Centre for Education 2011


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Whilst ACE has made all reasonable efforts to ensure that theinformation contained in this booklet is accurate and up-to-dateat the time of publication, it does not constitute legal adviceand should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice.ACE cannot accept any responsibility for any loss or damagesuffered as a consequence of any reliance placed upon it.

Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) Ltd. 2011

ACE, 1C Aberdeen Studios, 22 Highbury Grove, London N5 2DQ

Telephone: 020 7704 3370 (Admin only). Fax: 020 7354 9069Registered Charity: 313142. Registered Company: 663126

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Printed by Wyndeham Gait, Castle Press, Victoria Street, Grimsby

ACE is a charity and depends ongrants and donations to operateour advice service. If you havefound our advice helpful andwould like to make a donationplease visit www.ace-ed.org.uk

Thank you.

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